#i wish there was more gay to balance out with the lesbian

[sierraluvzcodyy]

Randomly Generated Total Drama Rarepairs!1!!11!1 (ooc post because im bored)

So I made a wheel and spun it a bunch of times and here are the ships I got

Katie x Cody

Gwen x Alejandro

Izzy x Alejandro

Beth x Sadie

Leshawna x Owen

Alejandro x Owen

Ezekiel x Owen

Zeekecest

Noah x Heather

Sierra x Courtney

Beth x Harold

Sadie x Leshawna

Harold x Leshawna

Gwen x Noah

Gwen x Heather

LIndsay x Alejandro

Cody x Tyler

Leshawna x Heather

Ava x Sierra

Idk if I should spin and make more so lmk if u want me to do that

Not Sierra OUT!!!

[lurkingshan]

Just saw your tags on turtle’s post and would love to hear more of your thoughts on Cheum

Oh, boy. Okay, I guess we’re doing this. So, when I think about Cheum I am usually making this face.

And embodying Oprah what is the truth.gif, because I think she is incredibly underwritten to the point of incomprehensibility. I think the term I used with @so-much-yet-to-learn to describe the writing for Cheum was "a void of characterization.”

By which I mean, I don't understand anything about her. I don't know what she wants or what she cares about. I don't know anything about her relationship with April. I don't know why she is friends with these guys or which she has real bonds with, if any. I don't know why she does things or whether I am supposed to see her as a neutral observer, a voice of reason, or another chaotic shit stirrer. I've seen some confusing messages from the creators about her that don't track with what I'm seeing on screen, so I find it hard to parse their intent versus the impact of what she is actually doing in the story.

But what I can tell you is that based on what I've seen, I don't like or respect her, and I certainly don't see her as in any way better or above the other characters in this story. Let me sum up what we've seen of Cheum over the course of the story:

She is mean to her friends, making lots of catty, passive aggressive remarks that dig at their sore points and taking sides against each of them on a whim

She pushes Mew to date Top and then to forgive him for cheating, to the point of ignoring Mew's stated wishes to conspire to help Top get back into his space

She somehow makes Ray nearly getting arrested all about her and in general gets overly involved in the boys' drama before turning around and berating them for causing her stress

She is judgmental and shaming about gay sex, making Boston out to be a predator for having a lot of sex and leveling a homophobic attack against him by claiming he took advantage of her "straight" brother

She lacks grace and humility and doesn't admit it or apologize when she is wrong, sticking to her bias against all evidence

And we have seen precious little in terms of positive attributes to balance this. We haven't seen her show up for any of the boys as a true or loyal friend. She seems reasonably good at school and conscientious about the hostel project, but we don’t get much there either. She's not even fun! Her function in the story is to be an antagonist to each of the boys in turn, even as the narrative seems to sometimes be suggesting that she is outside the drama.

It all reads very confused to me, and I can't say with any certainty how much of it is intentional and how much is just failures of writing and editing. She's not getting enough screen time for a confident read on who she is, and what she does get feels half-baked. At this point, I think it's safe to say Cheum is just a poorly executed character who has little purpose besides being the token lesbian in the friend group.

[coraniaid]

🔥 about tara

OK, so for the record I like Tara a lot. She's definitely in my top ten favorite characters. I am still in the early stages of a (painfully slow) Season 4 rewatch, and one of the things keeping me going is the thought I will get to see Tara again soon.

I think Tara's death is very sad and I can understand why Amber Benson felt poorly treated by the way it was handled (especially with the stupid gimmick of adding Tara to the opening credits just for that episode). On balance -- and especially given the context arround her introduction and her relationship with Willow -- I think that it was probably a fairly significant mistake from a writing perspective for at least a couple of reasons. (It's not really a good look to kill off half of your show's groundbreaking lesbian couple, whatever the context, and the writers didn't really seem to have any sort of coherent plan for what to do with Willow afterwards.)

But it kind of irks me when I see it described as an obvious case of the Bury Your Gays trope because ... it really isn't?

Tara doesn't die because she's gay: she doesn't die shortly after coming out, she isn't targeted because she's a lesbian; she isn't, in fact, targeted directly at all. Her death is basically just a stupid random accident. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Neither is Tara treated as more expendable by the narrative because she's a lesbian. By the time Tara dies, Buffy (and the Angel spin-off) had already killed off (among other recurring and at least occasionally sympathetic characters) Jenny Calendar, Kendra, Larry, Doyle, Forrest, Joyce and Darla. By the time both shows end the writers will have also killed off Jonathan, Anya, Cordelia, Fred and Wesley. Buffy isn't quite a show where Anyone Can Die, but certainly it's one where anyone can die if they're not in the Core Four (and if they're not vampires Buffy has slept with, in which case they can die for a little bit but they'll get over it).

And nor is there some sense that Tara's death affects the rest of the group any less than any of the others on the above list. On the contrary, other than Joyce, who is the protagonist of the show's actual mother and had been a presence in the show for almost twice as long as Tara was, she gets mourned for longer and by more people than anyone else on that previous list. (Xander and Willow's supposed childhood friend Jesse gets mourned so little I couldn't even bring myself to add him to the list.)

Yes, the show is far from perfect. It definitely is, at various times, racist, sexist and homophobic, often in ways that cannot at all be dimissed as the show being a product of its time. I think you could certainly argue that Tara was a victim of the show's persistent narrative misogyny (Willow's first girlfriend, Giles's first girlfriend on the show, and both of Xander's girlfriends die, but neither Oz nor Riley die and neither Angel or Spike die in a way that matters).

But Tara's death isn't automatically an example of the Bury You Gays trope just because she dies and was a lesbian. Even though, as I said, it was a probably the wrong decision for the character and the show and I wish it hadn't happened.

--

Oh, also, a bonus hot take:

In a hypothetical Season 7 where Tara survived, I really don't think I can see her relationship with Willow lasting long. The show sort of forgets about it in favor of advancing the subplot in which Willow becomes a magic addict after her Evil Friend Amy takes her to see a drug dealer and then forces her to relapse, but .... Willow's supposed magic addiction isn't why she and Tara broke up. They broke up because Willow was messing with Tara's memories and consent, well before she'd ever met Rack or de-ratted Amy. Willow hadn't actually done anything to address the things that made her take Tara for granted and consider herself entitled to mess with her mind with magic at all. She'd been sad about the relationship ending, sure, and Tara missed Willow, but ... Willow was absolutely the same person who did this to Tara.

The show doesn't bother to address the actual reason she and Tara broke up, preferring the cheap shock death just when they'd gotten back together again. But after a while I think Tara would have realized this, and without the shock of losing Tara in the first place I think Willow would find it very hard not to fall back into her old habits. Habits which have nothing to do with Amy's supposed malign influence. After all, Willow was trying to use magic to change her best friend's mental state without his consent as early as Lovers Walk, a full year before she ever met Tara. And when she and Oz broke up that same season she very quickly started talking about wishing she had a way to "make [him] trust me". This is much more a part of who Willow is than any addiction to evil magic.

[mamawasatesttube]

Hi hello,

Random question, but what do you headcannon cassie to look like and dress through-out her teens into adulthood? Both as wondergirl and as cassie? On that same vein, what adult superhero name do you like for her?

Anywhoosies, wishing u a great day!

late teenage into early 20s cassie is grappling with comp het pretty hard and tries to grow her hair out and dress more femme. she hates it but she doesn't know she hates it for a hot minute. this is both as wonder girl and as cassie because she barely exists as a civilian at all for a long time. "cassie sandsmark" publicly was wonder girl for a while, and she tried coming up with a fake name and identity to be a civilian again in tt03, but it was rough on her and she ultimately gave up on it.

so i think that really just weighs on her - she's a hero 24/7, she's leading the titans, she's basically letting the vigilante life consume her and she's gonna crash and burn out hard any day now. i think donna sees this and goes hey... you know you don't have to be exactly like me, right? in fact i think you need a vacation. let's go to themyscira for a bit. and its big sis lil sis bonding time but also for the first time cassie catches herself thinking um... women 😳 women? 😳 oh god. women 😳 and she has a whole crisis about it.

when she comes back from her vacation she does feel a lot more in touch with herself. the problem is that what she sees there (dissatisfied with her work-life balance, worn out, starting to confront her internalized homophobia) freaks her out. so she kind of has a crisis and hacks her hair off with a pair of scissors in the middle of the night and then looks in the mirror like. oh GOD. what did i DO??? oh god oh fuck who do i know who can fix this and won't ask me questions if i say i don't wanna talk about it hhghnggrhgnn...

so she shows up in kansas wearing a beanie at like 1am like kon Please. help. 😭 and she feels So guilty bc he's her ex and he's still kind and loving enough that he does get out of bed despite having an early morning with farm chores, and then he's all sleepily shuffling to the bathroom with her like here. sit. i'll fix your bangs. jeez. and the vibes are so... you know. bathroom light late at night spilling into the hallway. he's cutting her hair. krypto is peering at them from the doorway like why the fuck are you awake. cassie's on the verge of tears bc she wants to tell him why she did this but she's terrified it'd hurt him if she was like i think i was never actually in love with you

but when she finally says it he just stares at her. and then stares at her some more. and then he starts? laughing?? and at first she's kind of hurt like uh. that was serious and also pretty hard to say, what's so funny. and hes just almost in tears holding her hands in the bathroom by the sink like. cassie. ive been so scared of telling you i think im gay. for like. 3 months now. cassie i hooked up with an alien several weeks ago and i had a whole crisis i just refused to tell anyone about. um. yeah. and she's like. YOU WHAT? ALIEN HOOKUP? CONNER KENT? and hes like NOOOO WE ARENT TALKING ABOUT IT. YOURE A LESBIAN LETS TALK ABOUT THAT. but its like. oh! and they click back into place as best friends instead so much more easily than they ever dated. it's about the late night catharsis of it all.

this is a lot of words to say that after this i think she embraces the short hair and starts leaning into masc presentation again. i am a butch cassie truther for LIFE. get that girl some cargo shorts and a carabiner for her lasso STAT. i'm talking those truly heinous cargo pants that unzip at the knees to become shorts. formal cassie rocks the blazer with a bra underneath look. cassie lingerie is a tank top with no bra. she's butch to the bone baybee

as for her adult hero name, i still kinda waffle about it but i've Tentatively settled on "xenia"!! it's taken from one of zeus's epithets and has to do with hospitality, kindness, and the protection of strangers (yknow those rules about breaking bread with strangers etc, those are also called xenia). the og meaning had to do with the idea that a stranger could be a god in disguise so you should always honor strangers, but i think cassie would do a sort of converse of that with it, like i've got the power and i'm gonna use it to protect people i don't know, not for the idea of a boon but because it's who i am. still potentially workshopping this, though.

[mejomonster]

This rant on Enterprise turns into Trip/T'Pol (implied /Archer) about halfway through ToT

I'm in general so mixed on Enterprise. On the one hand I think it does some stuff very well, on the other it falls so short of its potential and often self-censors to refuse to actually tackle moral issues or just goes with the still-fucked-up status quo (made even MORE irritating by the fact they write Archer SO kind and good usually - they'll write him say "we dont believe in one person owning another you're free to do as you wish" after helping a slave run away from their master, which makes sense, then fucking write him condoning slavery and returning a slave and saying they shouldn't have tried to help... which is so out of character And Anti Star Trek's goal of working for a better future its painful). I want to love it but there's just too many shortcomings in it that... I would expect of a 90s show being censored by networks and higher ups, but not of a 2000s show when other shows were pushing the limits farther. I want Star Trek to aspire for a better future, it hurts when its actively avoiding that. (However: im not saying i dislike the crew attitudes, them being immature and intolerant and impulsive and human-centric makes sense given its their first time interacting with the bigger world, and they grow, and its all very in character and makes sense. What doesn't make sense is whenever writing tries to do something brave, then backpedals and contradicts itself so weirdly you know someone was told "do NOT write that, write that the slave needs to to back to their master NOW" or "i know we just made a metaphor for AIDS but you shouldnt have and its too late to change the whole episode i guess, so make sure the gay metaphor people lose their jobs." Its just frustrating as fuck. I can TELL some writers were trying hard to tell meaningful and brave stories, and got told midway through or at the end "NO, undo the point your script is making NOW"

And then on the shallow side? I can see some surface level decisions they made (perhaps as a result of playing it safer rather than braver but whatever the reason). Like Archer/Trip/T'Pol having some key similarities to Kirk/McCoy/Spock in terms of their main traits being a balanced leader taking into account emotion and logic as he embodies passion, a more emotionally expressive and motivated leader, a more logically motivated leader. I can see Archer/TPol as a romantic relationship explored is so much (at least initially) what if we did spirk again, but theyre a guy and girl so we can just SAY theyre sexually attracted on screen. (What couldve been? Imagine a world where all 3 were women, and they pursued a spirk type lesbian couple explicitly, that couldve been something no show before did. Or if TPol was explored as explicitly trans more, and it never affected Archer or Trips attraction to her - her being a vulcan being the only thing they're even debating handling - how that couldve done something new and brave TOS didnt do and TNG didnt do, both having interspecies friendships, and straight romances). Then the show goes: okay what if we try emotional/logical romantic pairing? With Trip/TPol.

Which while not brave (many a logical/emotional pair on star trek shows platonic and romantic, many an interspecies straight relationship on star trek at this point), is a dynamic that TOS didnt make explicitly romantic. Like making a straight spirk equivalent, making a straight spones equivalent is... interesting, can be explicit (since the show clearly didnt want to do an explicit queer relationship), and Trip and TPol are really secondary main characters so thats interesting. Whereas DeAnna and Riker... TNG bounced between the crew enough they maybe had less focus, perhaps. And... one one level (as nonstop with Enterprise) I'm a bit frustrated they didnt try for braver writing choices.

But on another I'm like: okay. Fine. You want to try to see how a straight spones like romantic relationship plays out. Then DO it. The show decides fine, its going to constantly imply TPol might get romantically involved with Archer or Trip (even into season 3 implying she got romantic with Archer when she caretaked him for 12 years in the alternate future with rhe parasites, having her kiss Sim with Trips memories). While I'd like a woman lead whos not constantly involved in ships... if thats what the show wants to do, I can invest in it. I can believe she might like them both. (I think the poly Archer/Trip/TPol shippers are imagining a better alternative that would make more sense if the romances were Committed to). The show then... toys with both ideas. Slowly. Like it doesnt want to commit to one (but despite acknowledging polyamory with Phlox's wife and Trip, does not want to write actual polyamory on the crew relationships), so it makes TPol seem to like both men. It writes both mens feelings very fleetingly, so the audience doesnt get too much hope ONE of the men will try to start a relationship, and then places all three of them in this weird schrodingers cat situation.

(And oh, can you imagine a more bravely written Enterprise? Where TPol tells Phlox she likes Archer and Trip, Phlox suggests just having 2 husbands - "sorry, boyfriends, subcommander, you don't need to decide to bond long term right away"

and she silently mulls over that discussion, they continue the holding pattern of the men saying almost nothing about their crushes, until one neuropressure session TPol asks "have you and the captain ever been intimate?" And Trip is baffled, thinks TPol means just a massage like this... but might mean sex or kissing. So he asks what she means. She says "in a romantic sense..." Trip goes "No, why? Did you hear gossip from the crew... because that would be wild. Them talking about us, and him." TPol responding with "I have heard a partocularly crude comment once. About the three of us having dinner alone." Trip: "From who. I'll straighten them out, that kind of talk shouldn't be happening. It's beyond disrespectful- does the captain know a crewmember said-" TPol: "It was a long time ago. It hasn't happened since. I simply ask now about you and the captain, in case it had some basis in prior real activity." And so Trip says, "Well. No. It's an odd thing for people to say. I think they were just being disrespectful... I'm sorry you were dragged into it." TPol nods. Then decides, after minutes of silence, to ask: "Would you be opposed to intimate contact with the captain?" Trip: "Well no... of course I'd massage him if he- what kind of contact do you mean, TPol?" TPol simply shrugs and says she was just asking, its fine if he doesnt answer. Then finally she mutters, stil torn about how far she wants to inform him: "I have reason to believe the captain may... wish sometimes, that I was closer to him."

Trip jumps up, as if worried she's being harassed by Archer, but her steady gaze stops him and he doesn't spill out all the things he was going to say. TPol: "I am not sure if anything will come of it. I suppose, only if I pursued the matter." Trip blinks, sitting close to her since he jumped up, face to face, his expression shocked then falling before he can control it. He suddenly realizes, she might be telling him she wants Archer. He didn't realize- he didn't think so far ahead, he supposes he wants her to be happy, so he shouldnt feel crushed he has no chance with her, he didnt even realize he wanted the opportunity to see if she'd want him until now- now that it's clear there will never be that opportunity. "Well, what do you-" he starts. She cuts him off, her gaze still steady and direct, "I am uncertain if you would be amenable to us persuing...further intimacy."

Trip is unable to compute what he's hearing, so he just stares back, not ready to open his mouth until his brain catches up with him. She can't be saying what she said, it makes no sense-

She leans forward and presses her lips to his, when the silence stretches out and he does not appear to understand her question. She wants to know, if this is something he wants too. Or an assumption on her part which is beyond reality, which was fed into by Phlox and his very unvulcan-and unhuman-views on such matters. She should not have taken advice from someone who didn't grasp her or those she cares about's feelings. Norms. Desires to act or not act.

Trip only starts to kiss back when she's pulling away. He stops when she's apart, the two of them looking at each other, both seeing more unknowns than they did before.

"You like me?"

Trip sees TPol's subtle eye squint, might as well be an eye roll on her, and immediately whatever he was worried about melts away. Because she's clearly comfortable, she's just irritated he isn't already caught up to her own thoughts, and is relaxed enough to show it. God help him in figuring out how far she wants his mind to jump.

"Course. You did. We did-"

"We did." She repeats, the slightest tone of humor at waiting for him to catch up with the obvious.

"Well. I'm flattered." He's probably blushing. Her eyelashes flutter, but refuse to hide her gaze away, and he figures she's equally flustered right about now. "I like you too, obviously."

The tightness spreading in her expression indicates, no, that was abdolutely not obvious to her- and she thinks she took a damn big risk just now, and he should recognize that.

"I like you too," he says, putting more weight on the words, leaning forward to grab her hand and holding it. To try and impress how much he realizes this is a big deal.

He has no idea what his gesture means, to her, the way he's radiating just how much he cares, how hard that is to ignore-even when she's extremely practiced in ignoring any signs of it when they're in proximity, when they're often touching in these sessions. This touch is different. Even if she blocks out everything, except for her own tumultous insides, his touch is so gentle. Resolute as the expression directed at her.

"That is fortunate," she finally replies.

He thinks that's an understatement, still holding her hand. Unsure what to do next, what T'Pol would want.

After a while, to break the tension- to give himself a break from the open uncertainty in the air, or maybe give T'Pol a moment without unmitigated emotion to wade through. "Wait. Why did you bring up the captain, anyway?"

"As I said, I have reason to believe he desires... further intimacy as well."

A million things he could say: are you sure? Did the captain act disrespectfully? What can I do so that you feel better? Who's gossiping and do you want me to demote then (even though you could and probably already have if you wanted that)? Instead he asks: "Is that something you want?"

T'Pol considers, taking in Trip's expression- not hurt, but certainly vulnerable, open. Clinging to her hand still as if it will kill him if their connection were to break, and yet his mouth falls open to wonder if she'd like him to withdraw. The way his eyebrows shift, the way his expression betrays that it would agonize his heart to do so, but he would slip away in a heartbeat if it would please her. Hopefully, he would say something as he did- so she could piece together his own desires on the matter- but regardless, he would try his best to accomodate her needs first. Perhaps only, if she doesn't push him to confide in her.

"I'm not sure," she answers honestly. "But. I would prefer an arrangement where... you are happy."

Trip laughs. "Well that's not exactly fair," he smiles, in contradiction to his words. "That's what I was going to say."

[lesbian-trash-panda]

✨Q Rated: The Rise of Kyoshi

A✨Q - Amazing & Queer, Recommended

Welcome to Lesbian Trash Panda, where I recommend the finest treasures and the best trash a gay raccoon can find. Today’s entry is the first book in the duology about everyone’s favourite Earthbender Avatar - The Rise of Kyoshi!

Summary: If you watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you’ll be familiar with Kyoshi, the intimidating 300-year-old badass who brought balance to the world two cycles before Avatar Aang.

Kyoshi has a fandom reputation as a merciless killer, but this book — you really see why!

Haha, just kidding, she’s a bisexual simp. The murder is only a side quest.

“The Rise of Kyoshi” follows the longest-lived Avatar from humble beginnings as an orphan to her youth as a servant girl to discovering her gifts, joining a bandit gang, fighting pirates, and taking on some of the most brutal villains in the Avatar universe. Also, she is a huuuuuuuge dork for Rangi, her Firebender bodyguard/friend-who-is-girl/maybe more??? This book is 60% revenge fantasy, 40% pining teenager in love. Kyoshi is part Batman part Sappho and we love her for it

Why you should read it: Did the Batman/Sappho comparison not do it for you? Ok, here’s some more convincing.

Avatar the Last Airbender is one of the best-loved animated shows of all time. It blends the best of eastern and western animation & storytelling conventions to create a universe that is rich in beauty, lore, character, and heart. “The Rise of Kyoshi” adds new historical context and intrigue to the Avatar world while remaining exciting and engaged in its own narrative.

Kyoshi is adorable, and that’s not something you would guess based on appearances in the show. She’s complex and has a lot on her plate and she is frequently put in no-win situations, in a way we’ve never quite seen before in this world. I appreciate when a story is willing to set up a dilemma and follow through on it, instead of pulling a last minute fake-out (cough cough Legend of Korea S1). There are still surprises, but she is forced to make tough decisions and those decisions have consequences.

Rangi is also a great addition to the Avatar universe. Fans of KorraxAsami who were disappointed by how the relationship was censored in the animated show will delighted by how open and honest Kyoshi is about her feelings for Rangi, and I love her for it. I am impressed by the complexity of queer relationships in the Avatar universe - the Legend of Korea tie-in comic Turf Wars gave a brief history lesson on how the four nations feel about it traditionally, and it’s clear the creators put thought and attention into the development of that element of this universe. I am glad they get to explore this part of their world more here, in an avenue where they didn’t have to bind themselves according to homophobic advertising standards.

The book is also funny. It has that classic Avatar humour with some added, “Oh, Kyoshi, you gay sad sack!” Lots of fun characters, exciting moments, and surprising depth.

I just finished reading it to my partner and she loved it. Hopefully you will too! Get it at your local library or buy it, I dunno.

Content Warnings: Surprisingly grim violence, including war crimes - more so than the animated series; for teen readers

Recommended for: Fans of Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, fans of historical fantasy, people who wish Bruce Wayne was a gangly teenage girl and Alfred was a badass teenage girl

[neeko-system]

SIGNALIS SPOILERS AND WHATNOT~~

finished my second playthrough of signalis, was going for the artifact ending. then loaded my save and got the memory ending. such a good game aaaa

the memory ending made me cry, it was really heartwrenching when ariane said sorry i dont remember, i just crumpled. watching elster be so exhausted was a lot.

not really sure if i understand the artifact ending. i feel like either its really vague (on top of all the other vagueness) or if im missing something. it kind of feels like a burial of arianes memory? like elster dies and we see ariane thikning about her and elster dancing in the wrecked ship? i’m not sure. maybe someone could give me their interpretation of it?

i also found out that theres a difficulty setting and really wished i had set it to survival before my second playthrough. woulda been nice!!! I do have one more ending so i might play the game again but might also just watch it on youtube and play the game again some other time(gotta let it ruminate so i can go back in with different eyes), I wanna get all the achievements anyways.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

all in all i fucking love this game a lot. very rarely do i replay a game so soon after playing it for the first time. its really tragic i’ll never get to experience this game for the first time again, but, so it goes. its such a beautiful game i will be thinking about it for a longgggggggggggg time. ive been wanting to talk about it so badly for so long but none of my friends have played it yet kyaaa!!! >_<

its crazy to me that the game exists the way it does. the style, the mechanics, the story, the music, everything about it oozes so much passion and care and thought. very few games have made me want to stare at every part of it to figure out how they made it look the way it did (THE GAME IS SO STYLISTICALLY RICH LIKE HOIW DID THEY DO ALL THAT) and the game mechanics are so nice to my brain, everything is so tactile and clicky and inventory management and ammo management and horror stratgey and the flesh and rust and death and love and lesbians and robots and anime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

amazing game thank you rose engine, i hope they make more stuff because i really want to see it

edit:(thinking about the first time i played compared to the second. i was considerably less scared since i had a clue of waht was going on but the fear that i felt playing the first time was special to me. i really like games with stories about ‘time loops’ because the replay-ability is baked in in a cool way. especially with how the game throws information at you, viewing things again having experienced perspective shifts from information is really cool. seeing scenes again re-contextualized makes my brain go ^-^(hots quest ding sound) but going in completely blind and being afraid of everything (i especially remember being scared of the dream beach, i had literally no clue what to expect and it was nice) it all had a different flavor than the second time which is cool because i feel like i experience that kind of emotion change *with* elster. (girlie needs a FUCKING cuddle nap)

the way the game balances reality and the surreal i think is super neat. i love surrealist dream stuff a lot and i think that a video game is a super good medium for that kind of experiential stuff that really inspires me to wanna make video games. especially because then theres also this super nerdy sci fi stuff going on about robots and space regimes and magical tech(my favorite) and planetary systems and military systems and all that good shit. i similarly wanna get nerdy about stuff like military logistics while also telling a story about gay robots and girls that keep missing each other just barely in the space time continuum. i love that the game tells you a lot but also is vague and also says fuck you (affectionate) stop looking for answers and just feel it. it explains just the right amount to not feel esoteric while keeping enough vague to leave a lot up to interpretation/figure it out by playing it again/thinking about it. it plays with themes and reality and reoccuring symbolism and all that good shit that makes stories addicting to think about.) ((also one of the endings requiring beating the game once among other things that keep between playthroughs, yummyyy. games that know they are games/stories/worlds that are aware of themselves., thats good shit right there))

[ddazzlingblds]

Knocks on my screen. Little people in my gay little phone, I need some help with a decision.

I want to take on another H:SR character! However, I am torn between three choices of muse that all appeal to me:

- Moze: My archetype of character....... my favorite flavor of man. Those who have seen me move Wriothesley back in time know that balancing a good dose of silliness with a rough past is a thing I can juggle. A big mistake when trying to go in-depth about these kinds of characters is mischaracterizing them by tapping too much into their cravings for ''darker topics'' and angst, and risk making them an hodgepodge of edginess and traumas, instead of something that resembles stability after a chaotic life, and by being on the twt side of when Wriothesley was in the spotlight, do I know about it! I still wake up in a cold sweat some nights thinking about a darker, edgier Wriothesley, exactly like Dan Heng when he dreamed about Blade.

BUT: I don't think he'll gain much traction as of right now since he's a relatively new character and a walking spoiler for the newest story quest :( Perhaps with time he'll be seen around more often? Please take him on as a muse...... he's so so so interesting

- Argenti: oh no guys help me I have fallen for another Chivalrous Selfless Man......... I'm down so bad for Argenti, I could very probably bunker down and get obsessed with him for real if I pick him. Another character who balances the true concept of Beauty with a terrible past, so another point for him. He's genuinely such an uplifting and genuinely kind character who seems to always know what to say to show kindness. Knights...... knights characters are in my grasp. I'd need to study the concept of Beauty more and rewatch some old apparitions of his, but I could take him....... also in a fight. But mainly as a muse. He'd be a character study that I would enjoy fr. I also have a little silly idea for his icons already, but we'd have to see.

BUT: no cons in this. I love him.

- Acheron: giggles in lesbian. Acheron is genuinely one of the most interesting characters I have ever seen in H:SR, and I wish I could tear into this like that weird bread gif, but that'd be a long post. All I can say is that she is the truest Nihility character I ever came across, and isn't afraid to show the sadness related to her past and the fate she both choose and was chosen to walk. Once you square her up, her reasonings are clear and aligned with her Path. She's a straightforward but also complex character that fascinates me.

BUT: I have been pointed out that I can get extremely tired of introspection sometimes, and... yeah, there's unfortunately a lot of introspection here. I feel like I would love to tackle on complex stuff and then fry my brain and burn out.

[crehador]

quickfire thoughts on fall 2023 now that everything i'm watching has had at least three eps out

EXCELLENT

sousou no frieren: still very easily anime of the season, beautiful in visuals and in story. a quiet, subtle look at loss and grief, and life continuing beyond that. the structure is working perfectly imo, it never feels like there are too many or not enough flashbacks, i feel connected at all times to both the present day party and the himmel-era party

migi to dali: still doing an exceptional job of balancing creepy and funny, i said before that the only thing i can think of with a remotely similar vibe is the movie hot fuzz and while i think there's a different flavor of comedy here, i still stand by that (and that's a compliment bc hot fuzz is an excellent movie)

kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri: although i wouldn't say this is mind-blowingly outstanding in any single way, it's very well-done in just about every conceivable way and comes together as an extremely solid series

BORDERLINE EXCELLENT

overtake: after four episodes i'm so tempted to put it with the 'excellent' shows but have to admit it's just not objectively on that level, it is subjectively one of my current favorites of the season though. silly at times, fairly simple story, but really effectively done so far

ADORABLE

s rank musume: feel like this one is largely going to slip through the cracks because it looks like your typical fantasy-action/adventure series, but doesn't stand out in that genre. the cute/soothing family moments are what stand out to me, but understandably that's not what most viewers of the genre are looking for. remains to be seen if a more action-y plot will build up, have doubts about how effective that will be

yuzuki-san chi no yon kyoudai: VERY CUTE with some very real moments and struggles, the cr subs debacle in the first ep however did it no favors

atarashii joushi wa dotennen: VERY CUTE i almost wish they'd cast literally anyone except umechan for shirosaki bc with him the similarities to cool doji danshi are just too much lmao however umechan is in fact perfect for this character so why not let him play it twice i guess

hoshikuzu telepath: moe yuri that isn't afraid to say rocket science is for autistic lesbians, what could be better?

wataoshi: YURI OF THE SEASON SORRY HOSHIKUZU TELEPATH HERE'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE BETTER i actually would put these two on a similar tier but wataoshi gets the edge for me because rae is so unapologetically, exuberantly gay and that is just so nice to see

SEQUELS

houkago shounen hanako-kun: tragically only four half-length episodes but it's nice to see these kids again, ogata megumi's hanako voice just hits in a way the jjk yuuta voice doesn't, for me, so very glad to hear it again

arknights s2: i'm liking the art even more than i did in s1? not sure if it's actually changed/improved, and imo s1 was already good, but anyway just really enjoying seeing all the faves moving and speaking!

spy x family s2: still cute of course what more can i say

b-project s3: MAN I'M TORN i don't dislike this season (we are getting so many kitakore shots) but i am so stressed out for tsubasa and i just want to see her catch a break! i'm sure the season will end in an uplifting way, but all the stress she's under right now makes me want to punch things

dead mount death play s2: it was good and is somehow still getting better, s2e3 which just came out is one of the best yet imo

GOOD FOR THE ACTION BUT NOT TERRIBLY MUCH ELSE

undead unluck: i kind of... don't like anyone here lmao but the over-the-top, high-octane action is not badly animated, it's just not gripping me on any level beyond that. it does however have the op of the season

ragna crimson: again it's failing to get me really invested in the story/characters but the action is not bad i guess, cast for this one is absurdly stacked so i'm not going anywhere

shangri-la frontier: this one's doing a GREAT job with its pacing and action imo, it's introducing the game mechanics in a way that doesn't feel too fast or too slow. only issue is there really... doesn't seem to be any stakes? like at all? which is not a problem for me personally, it just feels a bit like we're waiting for another shoe to drop

WATCHABLE BUT...

bullbuster: i'm kind of vibing with this after three episodes but i really can't imagine it finding an audience, it's not mech enough to really appeal to mech fans and it's not... typical office drama enough to appeal to typical office fans. it's a strange little combo that just happens to work for me, personally

NOT GOOD BUT I LOVE IT

kawagoe boys sing: this is a ridiculous series, i would say not as wild as number24 but kind of getting there. like number24 but more vanilla, less homoerotic. i loved number24 and I'M LOVING THIS TOO there are some genuinely interesting characters already and though i still currently want to punt kick that teacher into the sun i remain cautiously optimistic that he'll see some character development. at some point. maybe

NOT GOOD. JUST NOT GOOD. SORRY.

bokura no ameiro protocol: really feels like some late-2000s/early-2010s male wish fulfillment dramedy. lots of weird and unnecessary het nonsense going on. honestly would consider dropping if it were 24 episodes but since it's only 12 i guess i'll stick it out. for kimuryo. who is unfortunately playing such a rancid character

[v-sansings]

More asks :3

🌷, 🍎, 🍇, 🌈, Maybe with S1 ENA this time!

OKAY OKAY!!! Yay! I can do that!

🌷: Ehm…well, not *too* different. She’s just a little spacier in her happy form I guess. And more curious. Her sad side is pretty much the same, only there are times where she’s not as intense with it, but she’s just a blubbering mess. Poor bby…

But nah; I try to have a balance between both sides and to let V give love to both of them. They’re both very cuddly when sad, so if you see them under a blanket and huddled up together watching something; that’s your cue to leave the room and leave them alone.

🍎: Well, she’s definitely a girly girl when it comes to fashion…..anything else mmmmm…nah. She doesn’t really shave her legs lest she has to and her mother is disappointed in her ‘lack of manners’.

•She tends to collect really small and aurally pleasing things like can tops, small shiny rocks, acorn caps, and bouncy balls.

•Once she arrives in ENA’s world, her inner workings as a transitioning human to code being….is kinda advanced for the program that makes up Ena’s home. So, she tends to buffer, stutter, and glitch when overwhelmed.

•Hopeless romantic to the core. And loves anything artsy fartsy. It’s one of the few things she thrives in.

•She’s a very cuddly girlfriend; physical touch is her love language. She lives for hugs and cuddles, gentle kisses, and subconsciously reaching for someone’s hand.

•DO NOT try to touch her hair unless you wish for death: only people she trusts can touch it or play with it.

🍇: Shooshi Mooshi’s reaction to ENA’s three eps and the remix. I ended up researching it for myself because it was obvious he skipped some parts; I watched it and ended up researching the fandom and found HotLegs101_art, Colexicanadraws, Zeravera, and Bashzzey. And I fell in love with the little lemonberry lady. And then I found DBBQ and the stories started up(I added the titles later).

🌈: Yes I do! I may be bi IRL, but I’m letting out my lesbian side with ENAverse V. Both versions are gay as FU—

And ENA…I haven’t really thought about it, but she’s either gay, bi, or pan. I’m not really sure. But either way; she’s a woman lover. A woman kisser, if you will😇

Hope this answers your questions!

[macgyvertape]

Castlevania Nocturn s1 thoughts/liveblog

This season more like Castlevania: colonialism, and power structures that support it

For a Symphony of the Night adaptation the inclusion of symphonic and operatic music was fantastic, especially the attention to the times the music was diegetic vs nondiegetic

Really enjoyed how many outfit changes characters got, I really want some meta about the Emissary's costume changes because she has a wide range of outfits from modern to 2 different historical ones.

Favorite plotline: the whole Orlox/Mizrak relationship and both characters (it probably seems obvious based on what I focused on), least favorite plotline Richter gets his mojo/magic back based on processing grief aka vibes

Felt much more like a coming of age story line for the protagonists, and (without checking a timeline) them a few years younger than the series 1 Trevor/Sypha /Alucard

This show really balanced well the introduction of the cosmic threat (cat goddess filling Dracula’s place) vs local threat (Emissary here vs leader night creature s1 of main show) in a way I haven't seen since s1 of the original show

more liveblog notes below cut

I knew going in Olrox was gay, a fan favorite favorite of blogs I check, and had gifs portraying him sympathetically. Funny how that probably influenced my initial impression of the opening

Lmao of course the abbey is on the evil vampire side considering I saw gifs beforehand of one of the guys with Olrox. (edit: funny that Olrox isn’t with the main vampire group at that time in the season, so I was right about the alliance for the wrong reason) 

I like how the Emissary's clothing is so modern I can't tell if she's wearing hoof heels or has cloven feet

Edouard’s singing sounded super awkward without musical backing, sure the fact its Dido's lament is foreshadowing. 

Edouard has a tailcoat, I didn’t expect to see it during this time period considering this is before the Regency. Olrox is wearing a frock coat, that’s older style?

Oooh wish they had done the fight to Vivaldi’s summer presto instead and made it nondiegetic music vs generic action music

Devil forgemaster automation!? Note to self check when first steam engine is and the Victorian times which is when I usually thing steam/magic punk

Also lmao Olrox gets the last word again

Ok so they have the French aristocrat vampires doubling as confederate vampires with the explicit colonialism slavery

Do we get more evil lesbian vampries with a take over the world plan?

I’m glad night creatures are a thing here too, its such fun monster designs

Real inversion of Castlevania’s Isaac having forge mastering be freedom from slavery and here it be a process used by the institution of the church as a method of slavery

How does “we need a plan” mean “children with no experience of the world and no experience of the hard choices adults make” in Annette’s response and not have a response because the subject changes??? Like Richter has a point about snapshot moral decisions, 2 or 4 doesn’t have experience so they should really work out any difference of opinion

Oh no the last alive mother figure keeps being helpful that’s a death flag 

Damn lol Olrox and abbey sword guy were dtf Grindr quick. Ass shot!! lmao having that final conversation about demons and Olrox is doing it leaning back, legs spread, dick out 

Can’t wait to see how it goes paying that price, what demon and Olrox’s seemingly invested question “will you [pay the price]” edit: season 1 seems to have ended demon consequence free

The world building this season seems so much richer and broader than the previous Castlevania series, all these different types of demons, magic users, gods, and spirits

Nick pick note: ok the waterproofing can’t be good enough for water to not flow down the staircase into the cellars and give away the secret passage. ask me how I know water loves to travel into basements

I'm enjoying the Emissary's ahistorical fashion in modern club/bdsm gear. Holy shit the “all about sex with you priests, every orifice I have has teeth” holy shit vagina dentata. I literally had to rewind to make sure I heard that correctly 

When Maria’s mother was pushing the stone and talking about being there for people she loves I was thinking “wow considering the hair colors for Maria it  would be funny if the Abbot was her father because it would explain why Maria’s mother, a speaker, would be so defensive of him. But surely they won’t be that tropey predictable” then as soon as the eyes met I was like LMAO

Interesting that Olrox chose then to step in vs letting Mizrak fight Belmont, since maybe he’d be better off letting the Emissary get killed

Love vampires talking with vampires about being an immortal being trapped in the shadows as they power play each other 

“You’re the one with the brand on your forehead” this was such a metal af scene burning the slaver vampire in a cage of crosses. Especially the extremely distorted fisheye focus on the symbol that distort’s the vampries face even creepier 

Oh that’s a good shot of Maria being visually isolated in the black of the Abotts’s cloak when she learns he’s her father, with a bit of visual exaggeration.  The selected impressionism animation in this series is great

The Emissary is now in her second period style outfit (red militaryish tailcoat) the first being the black outfit worn for the funeral/graveyard that looked a lot more rococo aristocratic 

Wait wat, so the vampire messiah look like a white woman with red hair wearing double side petticoats in the European aristocrat style, who has a Russian name and was living in snowy Russia, but she’s talking like she is Sekhmet despite having no Egyptian characteristics at all. Like she looks nothing like the Emissary who is Egyptian. What’s up with that?

Grandpa Belmont is somehow beating “I attacked my son and devastated a country Dracula” in worst hurting a family member reaction to grief IMO

Lacrimosa is GOATed really just best choice to include for this moment especially how they did it with nondiegetic string accompaniment in Edouard’s PoV but that cuts out with the shift to Mizrak/Olrox PoV

“I love everything about adding tension to the relationship and denial of feelings with: "is [turning me into a vampire without permission] what you had planned for me" “Of course not… I’m not in love with you”

Fucking gun axe, and did the vampires just sit around listening to the family drama to know so much 

Nooo don’t hang a lampshade on an ending line be “witty, cunning, and brutal” then say “fuck it” which fits the standard 

Power play the Messiah calling Olrox a dragon when he turned into a Quetzalcoatl in ep1, and then doing a show of force to force him from an insincere bow into a deep on. You can tell he’s fucking pissed off

“Just read the fucking book” and Orlox gets the last word again lmao

Lmao the very on the nose bible verse lines “lift up thy feat” when the birds lift Maria up, the line about slipping after she nearly slips. Wonder what was done first; picking the psalm (Psalms 73:2-5) or the animation direction?

So I thought the vampire messiah was supposed to be an a fraud in identity, but damn she can control the moon. Or was Selhmet not a delusion but a actual magic being waiting to possess her and take over, as seen by the physical transformation to part cat?

I guess Orlox does care enough for Mizrak to get involved awww

Ah the establishing shot visible proof of the limit to the eclipse which doesn’t even cover all of France 

Love the angst breakup, Orlox/Mizrak favorite ship in the whole show

It felt obvious the mother figure character wouldn’t last the whole season but I wasn’t expecting her to be turned

Word Effect where The Emissary is built up as a power threat the whole season then she’s 1 hit KO to show Alucard’s power 

[hullomoon]

hullomoon's 2023 works: part one

it’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for a work round-up! i had a pretty busy year so i didn't post as much, but i also know i did more longer works. so it probably balances out in the end. if you haven’t yet, check out my 2019 roundup, 2020 roundup, 2021 roundup, and 2022 roundup! all works are ordered in chronological posting order.

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | part six

[podfic] don't blow those pipes | Schitt's Creek | David/Patrick | 03:25

Patrick picks up another new instrument. David is not thrilled.

[podfic] your love is a secret i'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep | Heartstopper | Nick & Nellie, Nick/Charlie | 0:10:06

“You know, you’re technically the first person I’ve come out to. Or first… creature.” Nellie licked his face. Or, five times Nick could only talk to Nellie about his feelings for and about Charlie, and one time he found the courage to talk to a human.

[Podfic] Haus Bylaws that Need Added to the Wall: No Hanging Chads | Check, Please! | Gen | multivoice | 0:10:37

If a Chad approaches Lardo, allow her to set up fucking ruining him before pouncing. [sub a) In all cases of Chad, Shitty is wingman because Bitty punched that one Chad.] (sub b) He deserved it.) {sub c) He totally did.}

[Podfic] winter's upon us, so won't you stay? | A League of Their Own (TV) | Jo/Maybelle | multivoice | 0:23:15

“I was just so worried about you when you left,” Maybelle says, eyes wide and full of softness. “I wish I coulda been there to take care of you, honey. You deserved that. You shouldn’t have had to leave alone.” No one has wanted to take care of Jo in so long. or: jo goes to maybelle's for the holidays, and finally figures out what she wants.

snowed in with you | Schitt's Creek | Rachel/Alexis | 4,079

Rachel just wanted to get away and destress. Then she learned that someone else was already at the cabin. And then they got snowed in.

99 Podfics | Podfic Fandom | multivoice | 0:16:01

Voiceteam Mystery Box 2022 presents their project for the "It's a Trap!" challenge. The challenge was: "Create an audio fanwork with contributions from at least 90% of this round's Voiceteam Mystery Box players. If at least 90% of players contribute, every Voiceteam player gets 90 points outside of their point cap. If less than 90% of players contribute, nobody gets any points. Either way, this challenge is completely meaningless pointswise." We didn't quite get to 90%, but we did make some beautiful chaos!

you came in like a wave when i was feeling alright | Stranger Things | Steve/Eddie | 840

Eddie likes to watch the rugby team practice

[Podfic] Sherlock Sands and the Mystery of the Pie Thief | Schitt's Creek | Alexis/Twyla | multivoice | 06:19

When Twyla Sands' pumpkin pie disappears from the table, she goes on a quest to discover the thief.

[podfic] a boy, a tender age | Stranger Things | Joyce & Steve | 01:08:53

Joyce Byers loves her boys. So when she's walking down the hospital hall in the late afternoon and she looks into a room, empty save for a lone boy on the bed, she thinks, well what's one more? my 101st podfic

[podfic] Haunted Doll Watch: Magic Earring Ken Doll Edition | Supernatural & My Brother, My Brother and Me | multivoice | 0:11:10

The listing: Haunted Ken Doll Seeks Gay Owner (Lesbian or bi okay too)

[bumblyburg]

ted lasso finale thoughts

Need the richmond women's team spinoff NOW!!!!!!!!!!! And it better have LESBIANS i swear to god!!!!!!!

As always the strongest part of this ep was the team dynamics. Roy joining the diamond dogs. Isaac with the penalty kick!!!! The fucking dance sequence callback T^T theres no place like afc richmond <3 Them winning the match but losing the whole thing was a good balance of success vs realism. I didn't know enough about football to predict it beforehand LOL but that probably worked in my favor bc i genuinely didnt know whether they would win or lose. Rebecca and ted's friendship was heartwarming as always. I was living in fear that they'd become a couple even though i knew that wasn't what the writers were going for, so I probably need to rewatch to fully enjoy it.

Tedependent lost RIP. it would have made sense but at the same time im kinda glad they didn't, at least this season. trent was still very much a side character and i just don't think the story beats were there for tedtrent endgame. the story would have had to been constructed differently, or it would need another season. I also liked how the main focus was ted & rebecca's friendship rather than either of their romantic relationships. I love a good romance but its not what this story is about.

Thats part of the reason why the dutchman return felt cheap to me lol. Sorry rebecca im always rooting for you but i just wasn't feeling it. Another part of that is probably because Ted and Trent had a much stronger foundation and we still didn't get to see even their friendship develop as much as i would have liked. Maybe ive been spoiled by all the trent this season idk. but i was just hoping for a little more. After all, it's not lost on me that we only got one confirmed gay couple at the end (we don't even know anything about Michael!!! Ugh sorry Im a michael hater he's so boring.)

Speaking of boring, I simply do not care about ted's family. So him moving back was... not really compelling for me. like none of the kansas characters are fleshed out at all. i wish they had done something more interesting with them so i could actually get invested. There was something there with michelle dating their couples therapist, but it ended up falling flat imo. Also Michelle being a teacher is a total copout, I would have preferred if she had an unexpected job that revealed a new side to her. Give her a personality outside of being a wife/mother/caretaker please and thank you.

I did like how Royjamie was left openended!!! thats the ship i care most abt and i knew it wasnt going to *actually* happen so im satisfied with what we got. I am in the (im assuming) minority of royjamie enjoyers that is against roykeeleyjamie. This episode really hammered it in why roy and jamie are not good for keeley LOL, but the signs have been there all along. Keeley needs to be her own boss for a bit! Roy and jamie are just not at her maturity level (lovingly), and they've got some misogyny to work through.

(I need to think on it more, but I'm pretty sure that I liked the way this episode/season handled the Roy And Jamie Are Lowkey Sexist subplot. Like the whole fighting over a woman thing is soooo trite atp, and i still dont know how i feel about them physically fighting over her or whatever. but the story was realistic about how these asshole male footballers are going to have some weird views about women, while still shutting that down those views. like not even giving them the time of day. Keeley literally shoos them out without a word LMAO. So idk need to think about it more but at least keeley didnt end up with either of them).

Hey you know who DOES deserve each other.... and makes each other better people, as represented by their football training arc.... the student is the teacher and the teacher is the student etc etc…… Anyways royjamie is real TO ME!!! (And brett goldstein and phil dunster, number one royjamie warriors. phil dunster wrote royjamie smut I will never get over that)

Overall im sad to see ted lasso go. i think i need to sit with all 3 seasons a bit more before forming my full opinion, but s1 will always have my heart. Mostly because evil jamie and evil rebecca are so so fun to watch.

[kitkatt0430]

B, N, U and Z for the fandom ask game please 👀

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

Harrisco actually. Its so obvious to me now, but it was seeing the fandom edits and the like here on tumblr that made me go 'huh, I should check this ship out' and then I went and devoured basically everything for the ship on Ao3 at the time. And then started writing for the ship myself.

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

Well, in general terms, I wish I saw more aro headcanons from non-aspec people. I'm starting to see more of that to some degree but when I'm in the mood for aro characters the pickings are slim in fandom even when there's a canonically aro character. Or possibly especially when there's a canonically aro character? It's kinda gotten to where every time we get a canonically aro character in a show I wind up avoiding that fandom for a while because there's an uptick of allos going 'well actually what if i ship them romantically and ignore their queer identity anyway because fandom is boring without shipping' and well how dare I want representation that isn't erased by the fandom huh? (*insert big sigh here*) And that's not even touching what happens if you happen to mention headcanoning as aro a character who is popularly headcanoned as gay/lesbian but doesn't actually have a canonical sexuality mentioned. (Looking straight at Luke Skywalker and Queen Elsa.)

I think another thing I wish I saw more of in fandom was acknowledging character faults without it turning into character bashing. It's something I try to balance out in my fics, making space for character flaws to be called out while still showing them learning and growing from that. But I see a lot of fics out there where a single mistake in canon is the basis for damning that character forever and clearly they're secretly an evil monster. Its a phenomenon that happens more in some fandoms than others, but it does pop up everywhere and can be exhausting to run into. Cobra Kai seems to suffer from character bashing a lot in particular, which made my foray into that fandom rather short lived.

In the Flash fandom in particular, I wish there were more Gideon fights back against Eobard fics. It's a fun premise to write and Gideon deserves more love than canon gives her. So I'm always excited when I find that someone else has written her as more than a passive background character. (And then maybe Ao3 would finally stop conflating tags for Gideon on the Flash and Gideon on Legends as being the same character when they aren't...)

U - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia - He's a vigilante trouble maker who encourages delinquency in his friend Estelle (the Princess) and helps save the world because he's a good person who just wants to protect the people he loves and the world they live in. He's snarky and probably has a jail cell in Zaphias reserved specifically for him and has canonically shoved knights into the fountain for various reasons that had Karol going O_O why??? upon hearing it recounted later. (Yuri - I forgot about that. Still hilarious. *snicker*)

Cisco Ramon from The Flash - Genius mechanical engineer whose greatest power is his imagination because what else would let him create so many amazing inventions? He's steadfast and loyal, probably the kindest person on the show. His hair is amazing - which he knows quite well - and he gets flustered when complimented on it by cute guys. (Leo - Love the hair. Cisco - *blushes*). It's amazing when oblivious show writers think they've written a straight guy, but it's actually a character who is intensely bisexual.

Atton Rand from Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords - Snarky former Sith accidentally finds atonement and joins the rebooting of the Jedi. Or rejoins the Sith depending on the path you take in the game. Are you good or evil? Atton Rand is ride or die for you either way. Also there's a chance that he'll make fun of the 'are you an angel' line from The Phantom Menace and that cracks me up.

Bastila Shan from Knights of the Old Republic - She's very much the stereotypical uptight Jedi and it's actually no real surprise when she falls to the Dark Side (briefly or not depending on your actions in the game) but she's a lot of fun when she actually lets loose. It's interesting to see her learn to relax and make friends and drop the holier than though attitude the Jedi hammered into her. She just very much wants to be a good person and protect others. And if you play with her as the love interest (default love interest for guys, mods to unlock her for the ladies) then it is absolutely hilarious to hear her say 'shut up and kiss me, you fool'.

Zelos Wilder from Tales of Symphonia - Tragic backstory? Check. Covering his crippling depression with jokes and innuendoes? Check. Struggles to open up to his friends and be honest about his feelings? Check. Triple agent causing headaches for everyone? Triple check. But if you get him the highest relationship values he demonstrates he may actually be gay or bi as he hits on Lloyd ("put on a show that'll make me fall in love" is not a straight thing for him to say to Lloyd... at all) and there a scene that will only change if he has the highest values at that point in the game - the rest of the scenes are different depending on every character, not just him.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)

Tales of Symphonia was the first game I played where player choices affected the game itself. While the game's ending doesn't really change, there are scenes in the game itself that are different based on the hidden relationship values system. I had no idea about this first time through and got Colette every time, but I learned about the hidden system as I started branching into fandom spaces and did replays with Raine, Genis, Presea, Kratos... and Zelos (sorry, Regal, I was just... uh, not super interested in you, my dude) and it was really Zelos who captivated me the most. And he's queer coded, heavily so, so I suppose it's really no surprise I adore the redheaded, gender non-conforming menace.

It was really my first real venture into fandom spaces beyond just fanfic too, so Tales of Symphonia is very near and dear to my heart for all sorts of reasons. I read a lot of fan theories about the game, but was still at a point where I was way too timid to really contribute my own too much. High school me was definitely struggling with self confidence at the time.

I've got a lot of headcanons for the game which have changed to some degree or other over time, so with the game's HD re-release happening in, like, three days, I've decided the time has come for a replay and I'm really hoping to see a bit of a fandom boom happening as new players discover this game and people who haven't played in a while rediscovering their love for it. Might be time to dust off my old fics, go on an editing spree, and start posting them on Ao3.

(So if you're reading this and considering picking up a new game to play... Tales of Symphonia. You know you wanna.)

[mithliya]

Omg, your mom tried to set you up?!!!!! With butch women no less?!!! Im so jealous idk if that would happene with mine 😭 recently she was ljke "oooo😉" at me about my sisters bf having a brother my age. I actually wanted to just go crazy insane bjork gif in that moment. ☹️ how dare you have men liking headcanons (?) about me. Idk whwtt would happen if she found out i was a lesbian. Like she also told me about how excited she was for me to have babies. When i was 13. :|

Also i live in gender capitol like we get taught gender identity spectrum in school and all. So thats why im not sure about there being butch women (or girls i guess bc .. im still a girl hezjnsjs) where i am and i keep feeling bad about having radfem? beliefs like is everyone going to hate me or is that just how it seems online xhxjd or. I dont know if that makes sense

I wish i could just fit in and go along w it but it feels so wrong to me, ... nopee even if i think youre cute im not going to affirm that youre not actually a woman bc your hair is short and you dont wear makeup or dresses it feels so demeaning for both of us. But then am i just making a big deal of nothing ?

Anywaays. Sending love bc peace and love on planett earth. :)

lmao since ive been out for quite some time now, my mom has gone thru the stages of grief and she reached a point where she’s accepted im a lesbian (she would try to convince me to get into a lavender marriage regardless for the sake of image but im not willing neither is my friend she keeps trying to set me up in a lavender marriage with) but she and my auntie have weird kinda homophobic beliefs on who im supposed to date. according to my mom & aunt, there has to be one “girl gay” and one “boy gay” ie one femme & one butch. they think if im gonna be dating women then they should be butch or otherwise masculine women bc it “balances” both parties of the relationship. they say im more feminine & shy & cute around butches and become more “womanly” so therefore i should be with butches 😭😭😭

SO basically yes my mom would meet butch lesbians in bahrain (they’re v recognisable in my country & have their own label too) and would immediately tell them about me and then exchange details w them. ive met 2 lesbians that way but ngl neither are my type and both have some major internalised homophobia to address. one of them was already in a relationship w a bi woman who’s going to leave her to marry a man (& just waiting until the day they must break up which was sad) and immediately started showing me her nudes (arab butches are the weirdest don’t even ask). the other one told me a fucked up story about how her bi ex left her to marry a man without telling her & when she got mad, her bi ex said “you’re just mad bc no man would want you with how you look”. a normal lesbian might’ve simply said “i don’t want men so idc” but the butch i met took it personally and married a man to prove a point. she got lucky bc he died within a few months of their marriage! he was trying to pressure her into sex and even complained to her family about it so if he didn’t die, who knows what trauma she would’ve faced…. also she told me she takes testosterone & steroids bc she’s a body builder and she has this kind of body smell that men often have (probs bc of the hormones) which were all big turn offs for me so. neither worked out.

my mom also still pressures me to have kids and has been since i was a baby 😭 but luckily she’s been overall supportive of me being a lesbian… hopefully your mom will be the same one day. heteronormativity is so annoying lol i hate how every gay person had to deal with our loved ones fantasising about us dating the opposite sex bc they assume we’d be OSA by default.

also no ur not making a big deal of nothing! it’s a big turn off for me having to pretend that a woman not being feminine means she’s not a woman. and it’s annoying having to pretend someone is my boyfriend or w/e else. i think it only becomes more of a turn off the longer you’re out too bc like damn too many of us already pretended to have boyfriends or to be interested in that stuff so being expected to do that to any capacity is just. bad feelings

[tvwolfsnake]

sometimes it feels like people on this site don’t know there are movies that are a) more than ten years old, b) not in english, or c) more than ten years old and not in english